Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary (also referred to as Christ in the House of Martha and by other variant names) refers to a Biblical episode in the life of Jesus in the New Testament which appears only in Luke's Gospel (), immediately after the Parable of the Good Samaritan (). Gospel of Luke According to the Gospel of Luke: Interpretation Shifting gender expectations, as well as the views of primarily male interpreters, have led to a diversity of interpretations of this passage. Modern presuppositions about women’s domestic roles have often imagined Martha’s “preparations” to be related to food, placing her in the kitchen in this scene. Food, however, does not seem to be at play. Martha is the householder (Luke 10:38) and the many “preparations” which distract her are rendered by the Greek word diakonia, a word used for services often associated with a particular office of an association, leading some commentators to imagine Martha’s business to be related to helping Jesus’ movement. To simplify, this is frequently interpreted as spiritual values being more important than material business, such as preparation of food. Two different words describe her distress – "worry", and "distract" – and Luke accordingly doubles her name and uses alliteration to draw attention to her anxious behavior (Greek: Μάρθα Μάρθα μεριμνᾷς, Martha, Martha, merimnas in Luke 10:41). Origen (died 253) “Action and contemplation do not exist one without the other.”[1] He pictured Martha as representing a fledging Christian still largely concerned with the practical life while Mary represented the mature Christian. One necessarily grew from one to the other but did not abandon action and service. Martha received the Word through her physical act of service while Mary received Jesus spiritually through her attentiveness to His teachings. Basil of Caesarea (died 379) referenced the “few things” in the passage referring to food and drink that is prepared. One need not have many “dishes,” just a few are needed for the body. A willingness to serve in the smallest thing is pleasing to God. John Chrysostom (died 407) noted that some used the passage for condoning leading a life of leisure, eschewing all manual labor. This was a handy invective of certain “heretics” such as Messalians who emphasized the inner life to an extreme degree. He believed Jesus was saying there is a right time for listening, learning instead of wasting one’s time on things